Quick Links

Limoges collectors need remember just two things about the 19th century. Firstly, soft-paste porcelain snuffboxes ceased to exist. Secondly, as hard-paste porcelain replaced soft-paste, snuffbox manufacturing moved from Paris to Limoges. The "Big Four" no longer dominated the picture. Snuffing had greatly decreased in popularity by the last couple of decades of the 18th century, and manufacturers were not making many snuffboxes. On the other hand, other types of porcelain products began to proliferate with the sudden increase in new factories. The output of these factories is known as Porcelaine de Paris.

By the early 19th century, the porcelain industry had begun to migrate to Limoges. This medium-sized industrial city had been a center for artisans and craftsmen since the Middle Ages. The porcelain industry was not centered exclusively within the Limoges city boundaries, but exceeded well into outlying, ancient villages.

Throughout the 20th century saw a resurgence of the porcelain industry as well as the snuffbox. The 1925 Paris International Exposition of Decorative Arts and Modern Industries, which launched the Art Dťco movement, transformed Limoges into the international porcelain capital. Fruitful collaboration with the greatest designers of our age has enabled Limoges porcelain to remain a potent force, successfully preserving its world-wide renown.